In January 2011, while visiting Panama City Beach, Florida, Pollock used a minor to engage in sexually explicit activity for the purposes of producing a visual depiction and subsequently transported those images of child pornography back to Tennessee. Pollock pled guilty to production and transportation of child pornography on September 7, 2011.

In addition to the 15-year term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak sentenced Pollock to serve 25 years on supervised release, following his release from prison. Upon his release, Pollock will also be required to register as a sex offender.

In announcing the sentence imposed by the court today, Pamela C. Marsh, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida stated: “Fighting child exploitation is one of the highest priorities of the Department of Justice and this Office. Crimes against children are devastating to the victims and their families. We will continue working with our state, local, and federal law enforcement partners to ensure that offenders are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Ms. Marsh had special praise for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Panama City Beach Police Department, and the Metropolitan Police Department in Nashville, Tennesseee, whose joint investigation led to Pollock’s conviction and sentence. Chief Robert Harding of the Panama City Beach Police Department said he was particularly pleased with the multi-agency effort to bring Pollock to justice and that he hoped today’s sentencing would help to bring closure and comfort to the victim and her family.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

PANAMA CITY — Two men were sentenced to lengthy terms in federal prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.

Timothy Wayne Pollock, 41, pleaded guilty in September to production and transportation of child pornography. Judge Richard Smoak sentenced him to 15 years, followed by 25 years of supervised released. Pollock will be required to register as a sex offender.

His arrest in January was the result of a cooperative investigation between the Panama City Beach Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department in Nashville and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The investigation began four days after an incident in which Pollock, a friend of the victim’s family, had sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl, said Sgt. John Deegins, who led the PCBPD’s investigation. The victim’s mother became suspicious of the relationship when she found gifts from Pollock and contacted the police, Deegins said.

Police found evidence that Pollock had taken cellphone photos of the victim’s genitalia and emailed them to Tennessee, which led to the federal charges.

In an unrelated case, Timothy Sorrell, 63, was sentenced to more than eight years after being indicted in February and pleading guilty in August to receiving and distributing child pornography. He also will be required to register as a sex offender and serve 15 years of supervised release.

Sorrell was arrested in January after investigators with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and federal agents executed a search warrant at his Panama City home and found files that contained graphic images of children, some younger than 10 years old, engaged in sexual activity.

“Protecting children from sexual exploitation is one of the highest priorities of the Department of Justice and this office,” U.S. Attorney Pamela Marsh said in a written statement. “We will continue our partnership with our state, local and federal government agents to ensure that offenders are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Both men had been charged in state court, though Sorrell’s state case was not pursued after his federal indictment. Sorrell still faces state charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

Pollock was charged with lewd and lascivious molestation on a child in state court, but those charges have been continued while the federal court case moved forward. Now that Pollock has been sentenced to 15 years, further prosecution would be redundant, said prosecutor Rob Sale.

“That’s going to wind him up pretty good,” Sale said. “I just spoke with the victim and she’s satisfied with” the federal sentence.

Because the victim is ready to be finished with the legal process, Sale said he would offer a plea deal that would result in a state conviction for Pollock but wouldn’t lead to additional jail time.